US Supreme Court rules 6-3: parents can opt children out of LGBTQ school lessons on religious grounds

News24

4 hours ago

The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favour of Christian and Muslim parents seeking the right to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed lessons in Maryland public schools.
Majority opinion found that denying parents the ability to withdraw their children from such instruction 'unconstitutionally burdens' their right to exercise their religion.
Dissenting justices argued that public schools should expose children to diverse ideas to prepare them for a multicultural society.
The US Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-3 in favour of parents seeking the right to opt their children out of lessons involving LGBTQ-themed books on religious grounds.
The justices were reviewing an appeal brought by Christian and Muslim parents against a Maryland public school district that, in 2022, introduced books aimed at combating prejudice and discussing gender identity into kindergarten and elementary school curricula.
The court found that the parents were likely to succeed in their claim that denying them the ability to withdraw their children from such instruction "unconstitutionally burdens" their right to exercise their religion.
"For many people of faith, there are few religious acts more important than the religious education of their children," wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the majority opinion.
He added that the books in question "are designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated, and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected," citing the normalisation and celebration of same-sex marriage as one such example.
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In the dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor - joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson - argued that public schools "offer to children of all faiths and backgrounds an education and an opportunity to practice living in our multicultural society."
That experience is critical to our nation's civic vitality. Yet it will become a mere memory if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents' religious beliefs.
US President Donald Trump has taken aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, with particular focus on transgender issues.
His Justice Department backed the parents in the case, calling the school district's policy "textbook interference with the free exercise of religion."